Microsoft’s Vexcel ships first UltraCam-X to GEODIS BRNO

Colorado, USA, 22 March 2007: Microsoft’s recent acquisition company, Vexcel Corporation, today announced shipment of an UltraCam-X large format digital aerial camera to GEODIS BRNO, Ltd., a provider of photogrammetric and geodetic services located in Brno, Czech Republic.

A European market leader in photogrammetry, GEODIS BRNO is active in more than 20 countries worldwide. The company owns and operates 5 aircraft and with the new UltraCam-X camera, strengthens its capacity in aerial image acquisition. The camera was delivered January 2007 and marks the first delivery of the UltraCam-X camera.

“We are pleased to deliver the first UltraCam-X system,” said Dr. Franz Leberl, founder of Vexcel and Director of the company’s Austrian office responsible for the sale, “and we congratulate GEODIS for their wise investment in a system that will minimize their flight times and maximize their profits.”

The UltraCam-X collects 216 megapixels per trigger to produce 14,430 across track and 9,420 along track pixels, the largest image format available, with a sustained collection rate of three gigabits per second. The camera maintains forward overlap of 70% at 3 cm pixels and 80% overlap at 5 cm pixels feasible at normal flying speeds. Meanwhile, the UltraCam-X system features a new low-cost data flow that allows unlimited image collection in the air. Low-cost, exchangeable data storage devices store up to 4,700 images and can be swapped mid-flight for reduced ground turn-over time.

“The new UltraCam-X camera will allow us to enlarge our portfolio of services and offer our clients new top-quality products like high-resolution orthophotos and multispectral imaging. We hope that this step will also reduce the costs of aerial imagery acquisition as well, and improve our technology in general.” said Karel Sukup, CEO of GEODIS BRNO.